Of Angels and Demons
by Themadnessman
Summary: After the Reaper war, Garrus Vakarian discovers somebody is impersonating his old vigilante identity of Archangel, alongside Miranda and Zaeed he goes to the planet to discover what's going on, and spectres of his past come back to haunt him.
1. Chapter 1 - Revelation

**2186**

**Commander Shepard is alive.**

**In the void above Earth, he made a fateful choice, the consequences of which are still being felt 2 months after the event. All Reaper technology, no matter its form, shut down in the aftermath of Shepard's decision. This resulted in the shutdown of all geth and the synthetic AI EDI. Commander Shepard himself was not seen until at least a week after the event, a cleanup crew finding his body surprisingly unharmed from a presumed fall from space, however, Commander Shepard has not awoken at all since then. While his surviving crew mates and friends visit him regularly it seems nothing can wake the commander from his slumber.**

**And a certain turian is beginning to lose hope...**

* * *

Garrus Vakarian sighs for what seems like the hundredth time this week alone, obsessively flicking through news article after news article. He had no clue how these still got made after all the devastation of the Reaper war, and even less of a clue why he bothered reading them. Scratch that one, he did know why, he had little else to do on days like this, keeping an eye on Shepard along with Tali hadn't ever been an option he could have turned down. Shepard was the best damn friend he had left in this galaxy along with Tali, so when the quarian had asked him to watch over him with her he hadn't hesitated. Still, he had that coldly logical side, always had, and that one was screaming at him right now. Shepard could stay like this forever, spirits knows what happened to him up on the Citadel, the only 2 men who had met him up there were dead. Still, Garrus mused, he had always had a habit of forgetting about logic around Shepard.

"Hey Garrus, how is he looking?"

He was disturbed from his thoughts quite suddenly as Tali poked her head around the corner, coming to take the next shift on looking over Shepard. She had recovered well from her initial intense grief over the Commander's death, and now put as much energy as she could into making sure Shepard was well looked after.

"No change, as per usual, everything's steady."

Tali nodded sadly, as she came over to Shepard's side and grasped his hand. "Keelah, it's hard looking at him like this..." "I know. I wish we could've done something." She was silent for a moment, just looking at the human she had come to love over the last couple of years. Garrus quietly got out of his chair, picking up the datapad he'd been reading as he left the quarian alone with her thoughts.

The hospital Shepard was being kept in was consistently empty aside from permitted visitors and the occasional doctor to check up on his health, usually Doctor Chakwas. Garrus doubted anyone else knew about Shepard's health better than that woman, having been on the Normandy in all its iterations. In any case, Garrus was alone, so he went back to his apparent new obsession with galactic news, skimming through page after page of stories on all the happenings in the aftermath of the Reaper war, there were the occasional articles which caught his notice, apparently, former Major Kirrahe was now a council spectre. "You really have a knack for moving up in the world don't you?" Garrus chuckled to himself, another one, talks of adding several more races into the citadel council for their contributions during the war, and another announcing governmental reforms in the rebuilding Batarian Hegemony. But despite all this a single article caught his eye more than any others.

_"Vigilante Archangel is judge, jury, and executioner on a backwater planet."_

Archangel? This couldn't be right... Garrus hadn't gone by the name Archangel since his siege on the station Omega. But here it was again, this new Archangel who apparently ruled over some planet that had undergone a massacre during the war...

Well, this definitely demanded investigation.


	2. Chapter 2 - Angel Rising

"Alright... So that's Jacob done, who's next..."

Today was one of Shepard's visiting days set up by Tali, where the commander's stupidly large group of acquaintances and friends were able to come visit. Garrus would've taken a bullet for any of the people visiting (and had on _many_ an occasion.) but he did wish they could've given him just a moment, he needed to talk with Tali about this Archangel business. It still confused him, who would've taken up the name of some dead vigilante on Omega? With his entire squad dead and nobody knowing the turian behind the helm it just seemed odd, then again, humans were quite fond of emulating "super" heroes themselves. Fictional or not perhaps this was similar, still, he needed to see what was going on.

It did appear, however, that he had a free moment. Now he just had to find Tal-

"Garrus! You goddamn amazing turian bastard, how are you!?"

The spirits really had it in for him today didn't they... Zaeed Massani kicked open the hospital doors Garrus stood aside, dressed in what appeared to be an incredibly worn and slightly burnt orange Hawaiian shirt with two crates under his arms. One labeled as turian brandy, the other some generic human alcohol Garrus couldn't be bothered to recall.

"Massani, I'm fine, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was in the neighborhood. Thought you and the gal could use a lil' RnR. Plus I'm bored as shit, business ain't exactly booming at the moment. So whaddya say we pop a couple of these babies open?" he gestured towards the crates, a small grin on his face. Resisting the urge to agree with the bounty hunter Garrus shook his head quickly. "Sorry Massani, I've got other things I need to be doing." Zaeed's grin turned to a frown, as he put down the crates, picking up a bottle of the human alcohol as he did so. "Ok... What stick's up your ass this time?" Garrus chuckled, motioning for Zaeed to follow him. "Well something's come up recently, you remember when you and Shepard picked me up on Omega?"

"How could I forget!" Zaeed guffawed, swiftly chugging the bottle and throwing it indiscriminately over his shoulder as he walked "Oh now that was a fun day, you and me mowing down those Blue Suns bastards! But, yeah, I remember."

"Well in the aftermath the mercs' presumed I was dead, didn't care to correct them, I needed to focus on helping Shepard. But now there's reports of "Archangel" returning. Ruling some planet out in the middle of nowhere." Zaeed raised his eyebrow. "Shit Garrus, sound's like you've got a fan. Well, what are you planning to do? Give the guy your autograph?" Garrus sighed, shaking his head. "Right now I'm not planning to do anything. I owe it to Shepard to stay here, make sure he's ok."

"Shepard? Garrus, I'm pretty sure the galaxy's biggest goddamn hero doesn't need you to make sure he's tucked in alright. Besides isn't his girlfriend already by his side pretty much daily? No, you need to sort this business out, it's not good to leave stuff like that just lying around." Zaeed frowned at his own words then, likely remembering some previous foray that Garrus was almost certain he was going to hear about at some point. "Maybe, maybe not..." Garrus sighed, "Look Massani, I need to talk to Tali about this but... I could use your help on this one."

Zaeed grinned at that, somewhat hampered by the disfigurement on the left side of his face, but a grin all the same. "Thank Christ, I could do with a bit of fun. Don't forget to call Garrus. I'll be at the nearest bar!"

* * *

If there was one thing Garrus had to say he was awful at, besides being a model turian citizen, it would've been saying goodbye. It should've been so easy to just tell Tali he was going himself, but then... Would she have thought it was a good idea? _Was_ it a good idea? Spirits knew, and Garrus had resorted to leaving a hastily written note on Shepard's bedside table for her. He felt dirty, but... Something was telling him that he _needed_ to do this. Despite that he couldn't help but wonder if this person hadn't been impersonating _him_, would he have cared as much? It didn't matter now, he was committed to this. As Zaeed said, he needed to see this through and make sure it was dealt with. Although a little bit more help wouldn't hurt, who else did he know who was skilled and available?

Grunt had gone back to Tuchanka with Wrex and Bakara, to keep the krogan population stable after the war. And if the rumors were true, raising a little Mordin Jr.

Jacob was a family man now and had wisely hung up his gun.

Liara and Javik had gone off together to publish a book, whilst the Shadow Broker took a well-deserved rest after the war.

Vega and Kaidan were now crewing the Normandy, busy with all manner of council matters.

Kasumi... Was invisible somewhere, no point in trying to look her up.

Samara had gone back to Lesuss, to spend a long, long time with her sole surviving daughter.

Jack was still teaching, he'd honestly never understood how that woman had gotten the job but having seen her students abilities up close he couldn't argue with her results.

With everyone else out of the way, it appeared there was a single option remaining, Miranda Lawson. With Cerberus almost completely gone save for a few small remnants here and there, the ex-operative had been staying on earth, quite near to the hospital actually. Time to take a walk. He stepped out of the hospital and into the ramshackle streets of earth, these days it looked more like the ruined plains of Tuchanka than the once great human homeworld. People still roamed these streets, more often with building tools and materials as they patched the ripped up London together. It was like this in every major city on the planet, humans persisted despite all the hardship and death that could've so easily thrown them into oblivion. Just as it would have to be on every planet in the galaxy, Palaven perhaps more than any other. After this Archangel situation was dealt with he swore to himself that he'd go home, just see Dad, Mom, and Solanna again. Spirits, he'd forgotten how much he missed them.

Throughout these musings, his body had almost gone into autopilot, and a few minutes later he'd arrived at some of the makeshift homes set up around what remained of Big Ben. From what he'd last heard this was where Miranda had taken up temporary residence. After questioning a couple of civilians nearby, (and signing one or two autographs) he'd gotten the precise location which he walked over to, pausing at her door before knocking on it 3 times in quick succession. He stood there waiting for a moment, before the door opened slowly, a familiar face poking out from the side.

"Garrus?"


	3. Chapter 3 - Hells Hound

"Right. Ok. I think I've got it." Miranda said finally, after a lengthy explanation from Garrus about the situation, he was pretty certain she still hadn't got it but moved on regardless.

The two of them were now sat down in the sole room other than a single claustrophobically small bedroom. Accommodations on earth weren't exactly cozy at the moment, but things were improving. This was a huge step up from living in destroyed buildings. From what Garrus had heard, Ken and Gabby had been hard at work making sure everyone had a roof over their heads. He wouldn't have been able to tell though, he'd never seen the two happier after they'd finally admitted their feelings shortly before the battle for earth. It was sort of a common theme, he had to admit, earth had been devastated, and so many had given their lives to ensure Shepard's plan came to fruition, but now? Even in the face of all this hardship and pain? Life prevailed. People celebrated. It was pretty inspiring.

But he was getting off track... "Look, the basics are, some bad guy is pretending to be me, so Zaeed and I are going to find out what's going on and stop him. We could really use your help on this one Miranda."

She shook her head, smirking slightly. "You went with Zaeed? You really are desperate."

"Oh come on..." Garrus responded, trying to hide his own mild amusement. "He's not that bad, and besides, for a merc... He's not... Awful?"

Zaeed and he hadn't exactly gotten along well when Garrus had rejoined Shepard in the aftermath of his Omega crusade. They'd both been in a bad place back then, consumed by a hunger for vengeance. When Shepard helped them though, Zaeed had actually come to him of all people to apologize, for in his own words, "Being a bit of a grouchy bastard." The two men had talked regularly since then, often trying to outdo each other with their stories, Zaeed usually won, of course, Shepard missions were banned. That wasn't to say Garrus had nothing, the one about the quarian serial killer had surprised and impressed the old soldier.

"Alright..." Miranda relented, throwing her arms up in mock surrender. "Fine, I'll do it. Only because you two need somebody to keep you from causing too much trouble."

"No such thing." Garrus snarked, grinning at her. "Meet me at docking bay 94 tomorrow at 10 AM. Zaeed's ship is waiting there. He said we'll know it when we see it."

Docking bay 94: The next day.

"Spirits... What is that thing." Garrus groaned, his mouth wide open in shock and disgust.

"It's hideous, that's what it is," Miranda responded with a look of dismay on her face. "That's what we're going in?!"

"Oh come on!" Zaeed yelled, already at the small ramp leading up to his ship "It's not that bad! Show some respect for an old model!"

Garrus had a healthy respect for antiques, but this... The gaudy yellow ship Zaeed was stood next to, a Delvadus 2050 cargo hauler. It was medium-sized, oddly wide with a downright confusing cockpit placement in the very center of the ship. It was rightly banned from landing on council governed worlds, due to its extreme lack of safety features, a fire bigger than your knees starts up? Explosion, you overload the engine by mistake, trying to make a move that on most ships would be totally possible? Explosion. The picture was pretty clear. One of the only benefits to picking up this piece of scrap was it's potential for extra armaments, plus it was surprisingly quick, as long as you knew what you were doing. In short. A quick glass cannon that would smash to pieces under any pressure.

"Ain't she a beauty?" Zaeed grinned from the ear to ear. "I call her the Hounds Bite. I bought her before we came out here to earth!"

"I am not going anywhere in that junk." Miranda protested, she'd traveled light, a combat suit and a nice jacket she'd bought a while back, as well as a whole sack full of weapons and ammo, slung over her shoulder.

"Let's just go. The sooner we're off this death trap the better." Garrus sighed they walked dejectedly to the back of the 'Hounds Bite', depositing his own luggage in there lazily before he got in the front with Zaeed, to be honest now that he looked at it the ship was disturbingly similar to the human's gas-guzzling trucks in design. Definitely a Zaeed ship.

"Fasten your seat belts kids!" Zaeed laughed as the ship spluttered to life.

I'm having second thoughts about this.

With a roar of what was possibly defiance on the old ship's half, it took off, and oh spirits, everything was shaking.

Well, this is how Garrus Vakarian dies. Lives through the end of the world only to meet his end by the hand of a space truck. Amazing.

Shockingly, it stayed together. And within moments the ship was gliding into space, that wasn't to say the hard part was over. Earth had a metric shitload of debris around it, be it the dead husks that the Reapers now were, or the broken up ships of the thousands, millions, who had given their lives for the galaxy. It was a graveyard, and would likely stay that way forevermore. Zaeed was piloting surprisingly well, sending them gracefully under a turian frigate peppered with Reaper blasts. The Citadel loomed in front of them, still marked and scored by the battle. Garrus had heard it would remain that way to ensure the lives lost on board it would not be forgotten. As to where it would go next? He knew bits and pieces, it certainly wouldn't stay in the sol system, even now that would be seen as an unfair bias to humanity.

As if things like that mattered anymore...

His train of thought was again disrupted, as the hum of the Charon relay echoed through the ship, he hadn't even seen them approach, and within a moment, they were gone.

Almost instantaneously they were there, out in the Anima cluster. it was out here, down on the surface of the not-so-prominent planet Kadillan that Archangel was apparently ruling. The planet didn't have much history, a forest world with dense woods that went on for thousands of miles with titanic mountains in-between. in the last couple of years, a colony had been set up there, with a bountiful export of lumber. Not perfect, but it'd been enough for the people living there.

Now though... It was a dead world. Blackened trees scattered around, no life among a single one of them. And in the distance, looming above a wide expanse of nothing, a shattered mountain. It had almost been sliced in half by what Garrus would assume was a reaper blast.

"God..." Miranda whispered as it came into view. "You really think anybody could survive down there?"

"Anything's possible," Zaeed replied. "If a man can be brought back from the dead twice I reckon' some crazy impersonator can manage to live in a place like this."

"Zaeed's right. We've seen weirder, we need to be ready to handle weird. Can you put us down close to the mountain? If anything's going to be alive they're probably somewhere around there."

Zaeed nodded and brought them in for a landing, which again, was weirdly smooth. Maybe he and this ship hadn't gotten off to a great start, Garrus pondered as he disembarked from the Hounds Bite. Looking out in front of him it was still quite a way to go until they reached the mountain, and whatever was waiting for them there. Maybe...

"Say, anyone want to talk about their species history?"


End file.
